(Editorial_review_form.doc)

Editorial Review Form[1]

To:

/

Date:

Project:

Document:

/

Draft:

Writer:

/

Email:

Style guide(s):

Completion date:

Routing:

In marking your changes, please use standard copyediting or proofreading marks and please use a color of ink other than black. If you wish to use pencil to mark your changes, please make marks easy to see.

If information is incorrect, please explain what needs to be changed rather than simply marking it as incorrect.

Please complete the following edits on the attached document:

Coordination edit

/ Schedule drafts, tests, reviews, edits, printing, and production
Schedule and attend meetings
Gather cost estimates to match the specifications in the document plan

Policy edit

/ Document elements: front matter, table of contents, index
Special pages: title, copyright, revision history
Page layout elements: titles, headings, headers, footers, page numbers
Format of special elements: tables, figures, special lists (trademarks, measurements, etc.)

Integrity edit

/ Table of contents matches the text pages and page numbers
List of tables and figures matches the tables, figures, and screens in the text
Routing sequences specify the correct location within the document of the necessary information
Cross-referencing of tutorial lessons, user’s guide, reference and online support is consistent
Screen captions and figure numbers are unique and consecutive
Numbered or lettered sequences, as in steps, are correctly labeled
Spine copy, bleed tabs, and index pages are consistent

Screening edit

/ Correct spelling
Subject/verb agreement
Complete sentences
Incomprehensible statements due to missing information
Suitability of screen captures for publication (clarity, no site-specific information, etc.)

Copy clarification edit

/ Rework illegible text and artwork so that persons involved in production (illustrators, printers, typists, typesetters) will not make mistakes

Format edit

/ Typography: type styles, leading, column widths, headings, indentations
Style: continuity instructions (so users don’t get lost between pages), positioning of figures and tables
Progress indicators and navigational aids
Running headers and footers
Margins, spacing, rules, fonts, page numbers, binding, tabs

Mechanical style edit

/ Capitalization related to content
Spelling
Word compounding
Form and construction of numerals and terms
Form and use of acronyms and abbreviations
Use of cuing patterns (bold, script, color, etc.) for specific words or content

Language edit

/ Ensuring fluency of one sentence to another within paragraphs
Crafting parallelism in steps and lists
Deleting for conciseness in sentences
Ensuring proper use of description, elaboration, examples, screen-focusing statements
Clarifying definitions of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols

Substantive edit

/ Make sure all elements are in the right order
Ensure that titles, introduction, and appendices contain the right information
Check divisions of information are logical and consistent
Maintain the correct emphasis on certain elements, such as information-related tasks
Minimize redundancy and repetition
Omit irrelevant or inappropriate material
Find instances of missing information

Editorial review form.doc- 1 -October 4, 2007

[1] Based upon forms and material in Chapter 5: “Getting Useful Review” and Chapter 7: “Editing and Fine Tuning” of Thomas Barker, Writing Software Documentation: A Task-Oriented Approach (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1998), 174, 237-43.